The Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, NNRA, has reinforced its collaboration with the Department of State Services, DSS, and the Nigeria Police Force to ensure strict enforcement of nuclear safety and radiation protection regulations.
The Director-General of the NNRA, Dr Yau Idris, gave the caution in an interview with newsmen on the sidelines of a workshop organized for staff members of the authority by Halimasalam Nigeria Ltd. in Abuja.
The workshop was titled “Strengthening Regulatory Competence, Inspector Effective and Service Delivery Reforms.”
He explained that the mandate of the agency covered entities operational in the oil and gas, health, education, excavation and construction among others where radioactive are utilised or researched upon.
According to him, non-compliance by government entities remains a persistent problem, prompting the NNRA to strengthen collaboration with security agencies and other stakeholders.
The DG announced that both the DSS and the police have pledged their support to ensure the NNRA carries out its statutory responsibilities effectively.
He said that regulating public health institutions had proven more difficult than overseeing private facilities, which he described as more willing to comply with regulatory standards.
“Our major challenge is regulating government facilities, particularly the hospitals. We find it very difficult to regulate the health sector.
“For the private sector, they are very easy to regulate. It is very easy for them to comply with our regulation because they are commercial entities.
“We held a meeting last week with the Department of State Services and we are also working closely with the police bomb squad and the Federal Ministry of Health to ensure strict enforcement.
“In fact, the Minister of Health gave us a mandate that any hospital that is not complying with us, we should close down that hospital,” he said.
“The DSS and the police, they are ready to assist us to make sure we perform our duties. We have just started and now we are training.
“The authority has begun intensive capacity-building for its staff, including engaging external experts to improve regulatory competence.
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“This time around, we are not going to take it lightly with anybody,” the NNRA helmsman stated.
Idris, however, urged staff of the authority to uphold transparency and fairness in their dealings with licensees and to carry out their duties promptly and professionally to safeguard public safety in the use of nuclear and radiological facilities across the country.
The Chief Executive Officer of Halimasalam Nig. Ltd., Mr Shakir Akorede explained that the training was designed to improve the productivity of the agency.
He said that there need to continuously probe the use of modern technologies and how they affect the environment and the populace.
“So, it is very critical that we have regulatory agencies that see to the health of Nigerians. For instance, you are doing an exploration or whatever you are doing, how these things affect humans is very important.
“In most cases, we don’t be essential to these things in this part of the world, but in Nigeria has an agency that looks to the human angle of this.
You want to set up a firm and what you are going to do would have impact on the environment, for instance.
“How do we make sure that the impact on the environment would not cause damage on humans, by making sure that the processes, the procedures, what you do, how you do it are in compliance with rules and regulations.
“So how do we ensure the safety of Nigerians is by ensuring that the agency in charge to make sure that such activities do not cause environmental hazards that would at the end of the day affect Nigerians at the end of the day, you know, even kill people.
“Our interest is to ensure best performance on the part of the regulator and to ensure the safety of Nigeria on the other side,” he said.
Mr Tosin Abegunde, the Chairman, Petroleum Senior Staff Association of Nigeria NARA branch, commended the authority for the workshop, organised for members of staff.
He said that continuous learning was very important for members of staff to keep up with introduction of new technologies and the fast-paced development in the nuclear industry.
The union chairman, however, called for improved funding for the agency to achieve its mandate.
The Deputy President, Nigeria Youth Council of Nigeria, Mr Mukhtar Akoshile said that the NNAR had distinguished itself in the area of staff capacity building.
He said that organising capacity building workshops for young people ensures self- sufficiency and makes them useful for themselves, the country, and the world at large.
“As a young person who is working in an argue, you could distinguish yourself and maybe go and maybe send you for scholarships, send you for training outside the country or even will make you an executive director airport.
“But what you just need to do is to focus the patriotic in what you do, and we also enjoy young people to also deal with less noise,” he said.
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